Sunday, July 27, 2008

What would you guess about the two photos that I took today? I’d label them “inaccessible.”

The first is straightforward: we walk through a mall (of all things) for no reason except to get to the other side and we spot this girl looking inside. And dancing. And looking inside. Wishing that what? That’s her secret, not mine. But whatever she is dreaming about is inside. Not something she can touch or call her own.

The second is just the view across the road where Ed lives. So pretty! One of my favorite pastoral scenes in Dane County. But it is substantially inaccessible. Not because it’s private – you can beg permission to wander through the prairie grasses. But because of the mosquitoes. They stand guard and forbid any entrance.

Summer in Madison has not been generous to those who love the outdoors. Not here, anyway. We barricade ourselves inside and work wishing that each day would be the last of the great invasion.

In the evening, I watch the last day of the Tour de France. Ed talks about future biking and camping in France. I’m thinking – can I be a spectator in life? And watch others do the impossible, as I slide under a crisp, white quilt and close the windows on mosquitoes?